Vaughnteriors operates Amherst store, runs in-home sales

Bobby Vaughn, founder of Vaughnteriors Estate Sales & Shop, stands at the counter of his store at 223 S. Main St., Amherst. The company specializes in estate sales, while the retail space has furnishings and original jewelry, art, cards and chocolates.
Richard Payerchin - The Morning Journal

The company also sells house to house, literally. They operate monthly estate and tag sales at homes around Lorain County and the surrounding area.

“It was a dream to always have a shop of my own, so it came to fruition, and here we are,” said Vaughn. “It’s never easy, having a brick and mortar, it’s another expense added.

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“But estate sales and the shop go hand in hand, I would say,” he added. “Couldn’t have one without the other, obviously, couldn’t have this without the sales.”

In the store

The shop specializes in “everything,” Vaughn said, noting it has something for everybody so as not to limit its market.

Vaughnteriors moves a number of pieces of furniture through it, Vaughn said, but there is more than just housewares and antiques.

The store serves as a gallery for original jewelry, cards and arts and crafts items from a dozen local artists.

It helps if shoppers come with a sweet tooth. Vaughn keeps a stocked counter with Faroh’s Candies and he will do special orders for items not in stock.

There is a backyard space available for parties and baby or wedding showers in warm weather.

Vaughn rented space in the shop, then grew into the space when it became available in 2016. Vaugnteriors opened in August that year.

House for sale

The store is an extension of the business Vaughn started about five years ago.

A Lorain native, the 41-year-old Vaughn is an alumnus of Lorain Catholic High School. He studied broadcast journalism at Lorain County Community College and then began a career in banking. Living in Cleveland, he worked for two regional financial institutes.

Vaughn said he had no particular training in estate sales when a colleague suggested he help a co-worker who needed assistance with one. That first sale dealt with the estate of Morning Journal sports and news legend Henry W. “Hank” Kozloski, who died in May 2013.

“It was nothing out of the ordinary for us because I always liked having garage sales and going to them,” Vaughn said. “I guess to say that I was going at it blindly, I really wasn’t, because I knew from having sales myself what people were interested in.

“As far as going into a home, it was a little bit bigger. It’s a bigger beast than a normal garage sale,” he said. “And we just went from there and it just was like, word of mouth, and it took off.”

Vaughn moved back to Lorain and eventually found his retail home in Amherst, where he serves as special projects chairman for the Main Street organization.

“I have a very special place in my heart for Amherst,” he said.

Ready, set, sell

When someone dies, it can be difficult for their loved ones to deal with grief while trying to maintain their possessions. It can be hard for people to go through a loved one’s belongings and try to figure out what to sell or give away.

“We’re here to take that burden off of people,” Vaughn said.

Each family is different in how they deal with grief and moving on after a loss, he said.

For Vaughnteriors, staff research items to price them fairly, said Vaughn. For example, he researches glassware and lamps, while his aunt, Mary Ann Homola, works with jewelry.

“You want to do what’s right for your client,” Vaughn said. “You’re there to liquidate a home, but yet you’re there to make money.”

Older items bring back memories for the staff and customers, who sometimes remark when they find items similar to things they or their families had years ago, he said.

“Whenever we go into a home, it’s nostalgia,” Vaughn said.

Not every sale deals with an estate. Vaughn said the company has handled “downsizing” sales for people who simply want to sell items they have accumulated before they move.

Vaughn emphasized the business is a team effort.

Along with his aunt, Vaughn’s mother, Marianne Vaughn, and sister, Janelle Taylor, handle customer service. Other staff include Karen Bahn, who manages the shop, and Virginia Pajer and Laurie Mahilo, who work in customer service.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m their boss,” Vaughn said. “We’re a team and that’s what makes it work. We all work together and that’s what it’s all about.”

Tag, you’re it

On Dec. 8, the Vaughnteriors team operated an estate sale at a home on Hickory Hill Avenue in Lorain.

The doors opened at 10 a.m. and shoppers were ready to enter when Vaughn opened the doors. By 10:05, the “hold” table, where shoppers can set items they intend to buy, had items including a brass firewood carrier and a cuckoo clock.

Inside, items ranged from a pedestal table for $75 to a crystal ring and jewelry holder for 75 cents. Furniture included a China hutch for $100 and a 1970s-era leather sofa for $150 and matching chair for $60.

One man carried yardsticks and tools to the checkout. Another couple said they were shopping for a niece who was caring for their granddaughter.

“My treasure today is something that cost a quarter,” said Margaret Lusth, 63, from North Ridgeville, who described herself as an off-and-on secondhand shopper for 47 years. Her find of the day was a plastic Ohio Lotto key ring filled with tiny balls that fall into slots to pick numbers.

The tag sales serve practical needs because the prices are reasonable, she said.

“Everybody should be buying used, especially young people starting out,” Lusth said. “They should be buying their furniture used.”

Shoppers are mostly local residents, although Homola said that day’s sale attracted a shopper who was visiting from Kentucky. Vaughnteriors posts online photos of items for sale, and the staff noted their sales have drawn collectors from southern Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“It’s just been very successful and we’re very thankful for all of our following we have and our customers and just the faith people have in us to do what we do,” Vaughn said.

“And, honestly, without my team – they are my family,” he said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be where I’m at.”